Journey to the West: Starting by becoming an apprentice of Emperor Donghua

Clouds and mist billowed, and in the blink of an eye, a great river, dozens of feet wide, appeared in front of us.

The river flowed swiftly away, reflecting a blood-red hue under the sun, stretching for miles and even dyeing the mudflats on both banks red.

In the river, the enormous corpse of a dragon lay sprawled. The dragon's eyes were still open, as if the shock of its death still lingered within them.

The six brothers from Meishan were all taken aback.

"How...how could this dragon demon be dead?"

Commander Kang looked puzzled and asked.

"Could there be a master expert nearby?"

Guo Jia stared wide-eyed and, upon seeing the smooth cuts on the corpse, exclaimed in shock:

"This swordsmanship... could it be Lü Chunyang here?"

Looking around, there was no sign of Lü Chunyang. Only a cheerful and handsome young man stood by the river, smiling at the group.

"Ji Sheng, Lord of Golden Rooster Mountain, greets Erlang Shen and the Six Brothers of Meishan!"

Ji Sheng cupped his hands in greeting and addressed the group.

Erlang Shen laughed:

"No need to be so polite. Now that you've killed the Flood Dragon Demon, why not come up and have a chat?"

A red cloud suddenly rose beneath Ji Sheng's feet, and he floated gracefully to the group.

"This... Brother, you're saying he killed the Flood Dragon Demon?"

Commander Kang looked on in disbelief and asked Erlang Shen.

Erlang Shen said:

"Let him tell you himself!"

Ji Sheng smiled and said:

"I did kill that dragon demon. But it was just a trick, nothing special."

Ji Sheng's words were not self-deprecation; after all, the Jiao Demon had just been revived, and its strength was probably not even a third of what it was at its peak.

But when it reached the ears of a few people, it took on a different meaning.

It's nothing. We heard that this dragon demon was unsealed and traveled tens of thousands of miles to get here. Did it come out for a spring outing because it had nothing better to do?

Ji Sheng recounted in detail how the villagers demolished the dilapidated temple, how the Jiao Demon escaped suppression, how it ate people, and how he killed it.

The group nodded in agreement, realizing that what Ji Sheng had said was true.

Grand Commandant Kang said:

"What is your relationship with Lü Dongbin?"

Ji Sheng said:

"If we're talking about seniority, he should call me 'Uncle-Master'."

Everyone looked at each other.

"Uncle-Master? Your master is Emperor Donghua?"

Guo Jia couldn't help but ask aloud.

Ji Sheng nodded and said:

"Although I haven't formally become his apprentice yet, all my skills were indeed taught to me by him."

Grand Commandant Kang murmured:

"No wonder, no wonder..."

No wonder he's so flamboyant; he's definitely from the same lineage as Lü Dongbin.

Erlang shouted at the gods:

"Guo Jiazhijian! You two go down below and cleanse the dragon's blood completely, lest it be used by some monsters and cause further trouble."

The two quickly cupped their hands in greeting:

"Yes, sir!"

Erlang Shen then looked at the four Grand Commandants Kang, Zhang, Yao, and Li:

"You few, go and carry the corpse of the dragon demon ashore, hang it high on the mountain behind you to expose it to the elements, and use it as a warning to other monsters in the river and mountains!"

The four Grand Commandants quickly agreed and flew down as well.

Erlang Shen then said to Ji Sheng:

"Indeed, you've surprised me. It seems another extraordinary sword immortal is about to emerge from the ranks of Emperor Donghua."

Ji Sheng repeatedly said politely:

"I dare not. Compared to Erlang Shen, I am still a hundred and eight thousand miles behind."

Erlang Zhenjun laughed heartily:

"You don't need to tell me this."

He looked down:

"You have done a great service by slaying the dragon demon. I came in a hurry this time and did not bring any treasures with me, so I will give you this as a token."

As soon as he finished speaking, the eyes of the dragon demon below flew out of their sockets and hung in mid-air.

Erlang Shen's third eye between his eyebrows slowly opened, and a ray of golden light shone out, illuminating the two eyes of the Jiao Demon.

As the golden light shone, the dragon demon's eyes shrank rapidly, and after a moment, they were only the size of an egg.

Erlang Shen closed his heavenly eye, and those eyes automatically flew to Ji Sheng's front.

"These items have been refined by the golden light of my Heavenly Eye and have become a pair of magical treasures. When needed, they can emit golden light to dispel all evil spirits in the world. You may keep them as a reward for this occasion."

Ji Sheng looked into those eyes, and small words appeared:

[Dragon Eyes (Gold Below): The original form is the eyes of a dragon containing the blood of an ancient evil dragon. Forged by the golden light of Erlang Shen's Heavenly Eye, it has become a rare magical treasure. It can emit golden light, which contains the divine power of Erlang Shen's Heavenly Eye, capable of vanquishing evil and warding off calamities.]

It was a golden treasure? Ji Sheng was somewhat surprised.

This dragon's origins are truly extraordinary; Erlang Shen is indeed powerful. He created something like this so casually?

Since it contains the divine power of the Heavenly Eye, it cannot be considered a split eye of the Heavenly Eye?

Ji Sheng was delighted and immediately put the two items into his possession.

"Thank you so much, True Lord, for bestowing this treasure! Please let me know if there are any more such good things to do in the future!"

Erlangshen praised:

"What spirit! Although I have no shortage of brave warriors who can slay snakes and tigers, it is rare to see someone as brave and confident as you."

If you have time another day, you can come to my Guanjiangkou Temple, so I can show you the might of my three thousand grass-root gods!

The six brothers of Meishan quickly finished handling the tasks assigned by Erlang Shen. The enormous dragon corpse hung conspicuously on a cliff behind them.

In the mountains and forests, countless demons trembled, hiding their heads and fearing that they would be targeted by Erlang Shen and his group.

In the distance, hundreds of villagers could be seen walking along the river. Leading them were the few survivors from before.

Upon seeing Erlang Shen and his companions standing on the clouds, these people immediately knelt down and shouted:

"Thank you, God! Thank you, God!"

Erlang Shen shouted:

"You all demolished my temple, destroyed my statues, and released the dragon demon, almost committing a terrible mistake! Fortunately, the little immortal Ji Sheng, a disciple of the Eastern Emperor, was here, which saved countless lives!"

"You must remember to rebuild the temple immediately to suppress this mountain and this river! This will ensure you have favorable weather and abundant harvests in the future, and that demons will never wreak havoc again!"

The crowd kowtowed repeatedly, as if pounding garlic. Erlang Shen ignored them and looked at Ji Sheng:

"Now that this matter is settled, I will not linger any longer. When you see Emperor Donghua in the future, please give him my regards. Farewell!"

With that, Erlang Shen and his six brothers from Meishan rode away on a cloud.

Ji Sheng also flew away from this place and continued his westward journey. On the ground, only a group of people remained, looking up in awe.

Time flies, and another half month has passed.

Ji Sheng walked and stopped frequently, not knowing how far he had traveled. He only knew that he stopped in every city he came across, tasting the local delicacies and experiencing the local customs and culture.

These days have really broadened his horizons. Putting aside everything else, he has enjoyed a lot of delicacies and fine wines from all over the world.

On this day, in a teahouse in the small town, Ji Sheng was sipping tea and eating the pastries that accompanied the tea.

The rich aroma of tea and the sweetness of pastries meet in the mouth, complementing and enhancing each other, leaving a lingering aftertaste.

The streets outside were noisy, with voices of people, donkeys, and horses, but they couldn't drown out the storyteller's voice on the stage. It was truly a wonderful scene of human life.

Suddenly, someone on the road said:

"Senior Brother Qingfeng, please stop eating! Master only gave us two taels of silver for travel expenses when he sent us down the mountain to subdue demons. We haven't even gone halfway, and you've already finished eating."

The other person mumbled something, but said:

"Junior Brother Mingyue, let's not talk about that now. Have one of these candied hawthorns too."

Both of them started making noises.

"Senior brother, which do you think tastes better, the candied hawthorn or the ginseng fruit?"

"Nonsense, of course it's candied hawthorn berries. Sweet, sour, and crunchy, mmm...so delicious..."

"Senior brother, do you think Master has ever tried these candied hawthorns? How about we bring him a skewer when we go back?"

"No, no, no! What if Master has cavities and his teeth hurt when he eats? Then our fellow disciples will blame us again."

The entire conversation between the two reached Ji Sheng's ears.

Ji Sheng raised an eyebrow, realizing that he had encountered Zhen Yuanzi's two young disciples—Qingfeng and Mingyue.